Is the ECB considering quantitative easing? August 25, 2014 European markets are up this morning after European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi gave a doveish speech in Jackson Hole (Friday). The ECB, Draghi implied, could be gearing up for more monetary stimulus, in order to address the ongoing stagnation in the Eurozone economy. Inflation in the Eurozone has been perilously low of late, [...]
Theresa May to tackle extremism in Britain with new laws but warns it will take decades to eradicate August 23, 2014 The Home Secretary Theresa May has announced plans to tackle home-grown extremism following the murder of the US journalist James Foley by a suspected British Jihadist. New measures dubbed “anti-social behaviour orders” for extremists will seek to curtail extremist behaviour and language and make it illegal to join extremist groups not directly involved in terrorism, [...]
Fed’s Janet Yellen hints at an early rate rise August 22, 2014 New US Fed chief Janet Yellen raised the prospect of an earlier-than-expected rise in interest rates during her first address to the audience of central bank chiefs at the Kansas City Fed's symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming on Friday. Yellen, who started her job in February this year, studiously avoided making any commitments to new [...]
Janet Yellen’s Jackson Hole speech: Full text August 22, 2014 Janet Yellen opened the Kansas City Fed's symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming on Friday for the first time since she was installed as chair of the US Fed. Her speech, on the subject of "labour market dynamics and monetary policy", called for "pragmatic" policy, and said there was "no simple recipe" to help the [...]
Burberry boss Christopher Bailey takes home £5.2m August 21, 2014 Burberry chief executive Christopher Bailey has pocketed £5.2m from share sales just weeks after shareholders rebelled over a controversial £27m pay package awarded to him this year. A regulatory filing yesterday showed that the luxury brand’s new boss exercised options on shares granted under previous award schemes. A spokesperson said the main reason for the [...]
George Osborne accused of obstructing MPs over Co-op and Lloyds Bank deal August 20, 2014 George Osborne was accused of unreasonably withholding information on ministers’ meetings with Lloyds and Co-op bankers in a series of confrontational letters published yesterday. He was accused of obstructing MPs trying to work out whether the government pressured bank executives into their ill-fated deal. The chancellor claims ongoing probes prevent him from telling the Treasury [...]
Bank of England’s Martin Weale and Ian McCafferty vote against Mark Carney on interest rate hike August 20, 2014 Two policymakers finally split from the Bank of England’s unprecedented unanimity this month, voting for what would be the first interest rate hike in six years. The Bank’s two most hawkish monetary policy committee (MPC) members, Martin Weale and Ian McCafferty voted for a modest increase in interest rates. The change would have brought the [...]
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway firm agrees to pay $896,000 fine August 20, 2014 Berkshire Hathaway yesterday agreed to pay an $896,000 (£540,000) fine to settle a US government allegations that it violated anti-trust rules by failing to report a transaction that boosted its stake in building products company USG Corp. The civil penalty, which requires court approval, settles charges made by the US Department of Justice and Federal [...]
Uber’s battle against taxi industry and regulators steps up a gear with Obama adviser on board August 20, 2014 In Uber’s relentless battle against regulators and the taxi industry around the world, a political strategist was considered a crucial element for negotiating roadblocks in the disruptive taxi service’s plans for world domination. Now the search is over, and Uber has no doubt spent a pretty penny of its billions of dollars of investment (which [...]
Merkel backs Baltic states but rules out combat troops August 19, 2014 German Chancellor Angela Merkel has pledged to support the Baltic states against a possible Russian threat but refused to commit to the deployment of ground troops. Speaking in the Latvian capital Riga, Merkel said she supported "enhanced preparations" to deploy NATO forces to the region in case of an imminent threat. She reassured the Latvian [...]
